Missile Defense Briefing Report: No. 306

SOUTH KOREA RETHINKS MISSILE RESTRICTIONS
The government of Lee Myung-bak in Seoul has concluded that it must pull out of the Missile Technology Control Regime. The voluntary 1987 agreement stipulates that signatories (currently numbering 36, including South Korea) must refrain from developing missiles capable of traveling over 185 miles. But the looming threat from North Korea's strategic arsenal is increasingly compelling Seoul to develop ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 500 miles, making membership in the MTCR moot. Seoul's about-face on the MTCR is far from a unilateral decision, however. Rather, it apparently was reached in close consultation with Washington. According to a Pentagon spokesman, “these revisions are a prudent, proportional, and specific response to the DPRK ballistic-missile threat." (Wall Street Journal, October 7, 2012)

THE NEW THREAT TO TAIWANESE SECURITY: APPLE'S IOS6
The new maps application unveiled with Apple's new iOS 6 operating system is causing some headaches for Taiwan’s military leaders. The software uses photos from commercial satellites and allows users to zoom in on images with a bird’s eye view of almost any part of the world. This has caused consternation among officials in Taipei, since the app allows anyone to see the location of the Taiwanese military’s new missile defense radar. Taiwan’s defense ministry has made a request for Apple to distort or somehow obscure the images - a request likely to be fulfilled, as the Internet firm has honored similar queries in the past. However, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry concedes that there is nothing it can do legally to actually block the photos. (Cult of Mac, October 9, 2012)

HOW CHINA SEES THE ASIAN SHIELD
China has emerged as the principal opponent of U.S. missile defense efforts in East Asia and the Pacific. In line with its “pivot" to Asia, the Obama administration has been upgrading the missile defense capabilities of the U.S. and its allies in the region, including through the creation of a new radar installation in Japan. The U.S. maintains that the buildup is aimed at countering the missile developments of bellicose North Korea. Chinese leaders, however, perceive the system as a future threat to their strategic nuclear arsenal, and as a current threat to their regional posture. Officials in Beijing further believe that missile defenses that provide an umbrella for U.S. allies in the region contribute to the hardening of political attitudes - in particular, those of Japan, with whom the PRC is now embroiled in a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands. (Jamestown Foundation China Brief, October 19, 2012)

RUSSIA'S RESPONSE TO EUROPEAN BMD
The Kremlin has found yet another way to protest the U.S.-led missile defense shield now taking shape in Europe. In its latest maneuver, Moscow is now attempting to bolster ties with several regional allies in the "post-Soviet space" to counter the perceived regional threat of European and NATO anti-missile capabilities. To this end, Russia has announced plans to strengthen defense and strategic ties with other members of the Collective Security Organization (CSTO), a key post-Soviet security bloc. (Global Security Newswire, October 24, 2012)

ANKARA FOCUSES ON NEW MISSILES
Turkey has boosted its missile capabilities with the development of a new 200-kilometer range ground-to-ground missile. The project, part of Ankara's new focus on ballistic missile capabilities as a counterweight to regional threats (including a nuclearizing Iran), will be followed by a longer range missile with a range of 500 kilometers. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are also partnering to compete with other defense firms to help Turkey stand up a long range missile defense system, a project valued at around $4 billion. (Defense News, October 25, 2012)